Council Bureau

You are here

At the beginning of each regular session, the Council elects, from among the representatives, a Chairperson and the following officers: a First Vice-Chairperson, a Second Vice-Chairperson and a Rapporteur. The officers are elected for a one-year term and hold office until their successors are elected. They are eligible for re-election.

H.E. Mr. Negash Kebret Botora
Chairperson of the Council Bureau

The current Chairperson of the Council Bureau is His Excellency Mr. Negash Kebret Botora.

Ambassador Negash Kebret Botora is currently the Permanent Representative of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia to the United Nations Office in Geneva and other International Organisations in Switzerland and Vienna, and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Switzerland, Austria, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria. In his almost 40 years of diplomatic service, he worked both in multilateral and bilateral fields promoting Ethiopia's external relations with other countries, regional and international organisations.

First Vice-Chairperson: His Excellency Mr. Morten Jespersen, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Denmark to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva

Ambassador Jespersen brings over twenty-five years of experience as a diplomat. He previously served in many postings including as Under-Secretary for Global Development and Cooperation in the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador in Nepal and Head of Development Policy Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Ambassador Jespersen served also in the Permanent Missions of Denmark in New York and China, and was Deputy Head of Africa and Humanitarian Affairs Departments and Head of Section, Asian Department in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

His Excellency holds a Master of Political Science (Cand.Scient.Pol.), and a post graduate degree East Asian Area Studies (Exam Art) (1992).

Second Vice Chair-Person: His Excellency Mr. Evan P. Garcia, Ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative of the Philippines to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva

A career diplomat, he brings over thirty years of professional diplomatic experience to his post. Before assuming his current role, His Excellency served in many diplomatic postings including, among others, as the Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva (2010 to 2013), Ambassador to the United Kingdom, and Non-resident Ambassador to Ireland, Consul and Economic Officer in the Embassy of the Philippines to Japan, and as a Political Officer, Acting Consul General, and Acting Deputy Chief of Mission in the Embassy of the Philippines to the United States of America.

He was appointed as Undersecretary for Policy from 2013 to 2016 and served in various other capacities in the Office of Asian and Pacific Affairs, Office of ASEAN Affairs, and the Office of the Secretary.

He has a License in International Relations and Political Science from the Graduate Institute for International Studies in Geneva and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Foreign Service, Magna Cum Laude, from the University of the Philippines in Diliman.

Rapporteur: Her Excellency Ms. Socorro Flores Liera, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Mexico to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva

Ambassador Flores Liera was appointed Permanent Representative of Mexico to the United Nations Office and other International Organizations in Geneva in 2017. She has a long diplomatic experience having previously served in numerous other positions in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs including, among others, as Undersecretary for Latin America and the Caribbean, Director General for American Regional Organizations and Mechanisms, and Director of International Law in the Legal Office.

Ambassador Flores Liera was also posted to the Permanent Mission of Mexico to the United Nations in New York, as legal advisor, and to the Permanent Mission to International Organizations based in Vienna. From 2006 to 2007, she was Head of the Office of the International Criminal Court to the United Nations, based in New York.

She has a Law degree from Universidad Iberoamericana and Postgraduate studies in international law at the Faculty of Law of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).